Quincy wrestlers roll over Ephrata to start off CWAC schedule
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Ephrata heavyweight Efrain Bedolla pins Jared Vazquez of Quincy with 45 seconds remaining in the 285-pound match Thursday at Ephrata.
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Quincy's Ray Robinson (back) throws Alan Maceda of Ephrata in the 182-pound match Thursday night in Ephrata.
EPHRATA — Quincy junior Eliseo Valdovinos thought about it for a minute. “Efficient,” he said. “We wrestled efficiently tonight.”
The Quincy Jacks got on a roll early and worked their way through an inexperienced Ephrata lineup with six pins in the first 10 matches, including three straight at 160-170-182 pounds, to topple the Tigers 44-28 in Central Washington Athletic Conference wrestling action Thursday night.
“I feel like we got the ball rolling and kept the momentum all night,” said Valdovinos, who pinned Derrick Knigge in the first period of the 160-pound match to set the tone. “I got the pin tonight, but I’m satisfied with whatever I get to help the team out. It’s still early in the season, but we’re learning so much stuff, not just about the sport, but how to act as individuals.”
The Jacks won six of 12 matches by pin to help cover the ground lost with forfeits at 106 and 112. Damion Casillas (126), Devon Salcedo (145), Valdovinos (160), Victor Tafoya (170), Ray Robinson (182) and Ruben Vargas (220) all won by fall.
“We wrestled much better last weekend. We took a step back tonight,” Ephrata coach PJ Anderson said. “It was just matchups. They have juniors and seniors throughout the lineup and we’re still young. We have a lot of sophomores that haven’t turned the corner yet, but I expect them to. I’m hoping sooner than later.”
As for the first CWAC match of the season for both teams, it was all Quincy.
Juan Mendoza from Ephrata cut into the Jacks’ 10-0 start with a nice, disciplined win over Oswaldo Perez in the 138-pound match, but Quincy jumped on board with three consecutive pins right up the middle of the lineup. By the time Ephrata’s Mac Laird broke the spell with a decision at 195, the Jacks led 38-6. Even with the forfeits at the bottom of the lineup, Quincy went unchallenged in this one.
“We’ve been switching up the way we do things in practice and we’ve been doing a lot of drills trying to get the kids to react on instinct instead of thinking about stuff,” Quincy coach Greg Martinez said. “Based on what I saw tonight, I like it.”
Ephrata heavyweight Efrain Bedolla had one of the best performances of the night, pinning Jared Vazquez 41 seconds into the 285-pound match. The 6-foot-5 Tiger senior is just in his second season of wrestling, but went out and turned Vazquez in the first minute with a solid, technical match.
“Wrestling at state last year taught me a lot. Being tall, everyone’s trying to get under me and that just means I have to get lower,” Bedolla said. “I’m pretty athletic, but I feel like my strength is endurance and the ability to keep going.”
Both the Jack and the Tigers are at the West Valley Wrestlerama in Spokane on Saturday.
Quincy 44, Ephrata 28
126 - Damion Casillas, Q, p. Carter Cox, 3:35
132 - Jesus Buenrostro, Q, md. Mya Spencer, 18-6
138 - Juan Mendoza, E, d. Oswaldo Perez, 9-5
145 - Devon Salcedo, Q, p. Octavio Placido, 5:08
152 - Nate Ramirez, Q, md. Corbin Sager, 13-4
160 - Eliseo Valdovinos, Q, p. Derrick Knigge, 1:54
170 - Victor Tafoya, Q, p. Will Anderson, 5:19
182 - Ray Robinson, Q, p. Alan Maceda, 2:50
195 - Mac Laird, E, d. Jerry Hodges, 8-5
220 - Ruben Vargas, Q, p. Kevin Pelayo, 3:14
285 - Efrain Bedolla, E, p. Jared Vazquez, :41.0
106 - Kelvin Sager, E, wins by forfeit
113 - Sammy Flores, E, wins by forfeit
120 - Clay Johns, E, md. Tanner Bushman, 13-3